Greece and Turkey are experiencing their worst ever wildfire season. Over 550 wildfires in Greece and over 200 in Turkey have damaged tens of thousands of hectares. Thousands of people have been evacuated in both countries, wildlife is being displaced, and the unusually hot weather and high winds are complicating efforts to contain and extinguish the wildfires.
In response to this profound and urgent disaster, we are committing $50,000 from the Bain Capital Relief Fund to support two organizations at the forefront of the relief effort: Hellenic Red Cross and AKUT. These organizations are on the ground searching, assisting and rescuing all who require aid from the fires.
With this donation, the Bain Capital Relief Fund will have donated over $1M to disaster relief efforts around the world since the fund was created in 2018. To date, the Relief Fund has supported recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Hurricane Michael in Florida, the Camp wildfire in northern California, Cyclone Idai in Southern Africa, flooding in Nebraska, Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, the bushfires in Australia, the explosion in Beirut, Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Central America, and now wildfires in Greece and Turkey.
